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Rights groups urge Iran to free reporters, bloggers

“By our count, at least 60 writers, journalists and bloggers remain behind bars today in violation of the protection guaranteed in the Islamic republic of Iran constitution and in international law,” six groups said in an open letter to Khamenei.

“This list constitutes the largest number of our colleagues jailed by any country on earth at one time in over a decade,” it said ahead of a hearing on Iran at the UN Human Rights council in Geneva on Monday.

The list covers those detained in the aftermath of a disputed June election which returned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power and was followed by huge anti-government protests and a strong crackdown.

The street protests were the worst political violence to rock Iran in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic, shaking the regime and dividing the ruling elites and powerful clerical groups.

The letter to Khamenei was written by the Committee to Protect Journalists, PEN, Index on Censorship, Reporters Without Borders, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and the International Publishers Association.

“We do not ask you to act outside your laws or the ideals of the Iranian revolution,” the letter said.

“Rather, we entreat you to uphold the pledges of Ayatollah Khomeini (the founder of the Islamic republic) and the promises of the Iranian constitution by releasing all writers, journalists and bloggers currently behind bars for covering the news and expressing their views in Iran.”